Tag Archives: New York City

Taking A Look At NYC’s Sheltered Homeless Population

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Source: NYC Department of Homeless Services and Human Resources Administration and NYC Stat shelter census reports, via Coalition for the Homeless.

Source: NYC Department of Homeless Services and Human Resources Administration and NYC Stat shelter census reports, via Coalition for the Homeless.

Homelessness in New York City is a problem, despite what Mayor Michael Bloomberg and spokespeople for the Department of Homeless Services might say. In the last two years alone, the number of people sleeping in municipal shelters has increased 27 percent. Since Bloomberg took office in January 2002, the number has increased 61 percent. To better understand the shocking graph floated around by advocacy group Coalition for the Homeless, let’s take a look at significant events impacting homeless numbers in the last 40 years.

January 1974 to December 1989: During the reign of Ed Koch, homelessness became a pervasive problem in the city. “Bums” and “derelicts” could be found most anywhere, but they tended to congregate on “skid row,” which at the time was along the Bowery. The city was not required by mandate to shelter the homeless until 1981, after which Koch established the modern shelter system. (This is when the city began to try to count homeless in their shelters.) Some of the increase during Koch’s terms can be attributed to a rise in mentally ill patients being released to the street after 1960s and 1970s “deinstitutionalization” as well as the  crack epidemic, which began around 1984. As the chart shows, numbers rose during this time, but decreased after the epidemic and when many mentally ill were re-institutionalized in jail and nursing homes.

January 1990 to December 2001: The numbers remained steady during the terms of mayors David Dinkins and Rudy Giuliani. While addicts and mentally ill homeless decreased, sheltered numbers didn’t decrease because income inequality remained and many of the city’s poor were unable to find affordable housing. At the end Giuliani’s administration, the number of sheltered homeless increased dramatically, by 35 percent from January 2000 to January 2002, when Bloomberg took over.

January 2002 to May 2004: Before and after Bloomberg was first inaugurated, sheltered homelessness saw huge increases as the result of the recession in the early 2000s (which was partly ignited by the Dot-Com boom).

June 2004: In response to the crisis, Bloomberg unveiled a five-year plan to reduce homelessness by two-thirds, focusing on programs and interventions that “solve homelessness” as opposed to “simply sheltering individuals and families.”

October 2004: The Bloomberg administration announced they would no longer allow homeless families in emergency shelters to apply for Section 8 federal rent vouchers or public housing, instead offering five-year rent subsidies called “Housing Stability Plus.” Section 8 vouchers provide rent subsidies for an unlimited amount of time. HSP, on the other hand, provided working candidates with shrinking rent grants up to $1,300, depending on family size, for up to five years to working candidates.

April 2007: The city announced the end to “Housing Stability Plus,” which was replaced by ”Work Advantage.” The new program provided rental-assistance vouchers up to $1,100 a month for two years or less to sheltered homeless people who found jobs.

March 2011: The state cuts funding for Advantage and the city stopped the program entirely without a replacement. Since then, the number of sheltered homeless has increased 34.6 percent.

Hast the East Village Reached Developmental Capacity?

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There aren't enough newer developments like this one to meet the current demand in the East Village. "It’s mostly six-story buildings," said Jeff Schleider from Miron Properties. "There’s a limited number of space right now.”

New Census data shows that the East Village has reached its developmental capacity, forcing newcomers to replace existing residents in older buildings instead of moving into modern apartments.

The Census reports that the number of occupied homes in the East Village has barely changed, though the neighborhood’s popularity has swelled in the last decade. As a result of rent restrictions and a lack of potential development sites in the area, increasing demand for apartments in the East Village has forced out some older residents and, in return, rent has soared.

Alex Karas, East Villager and real estate agent from Bond New York, said that there isn’t enough space in the neighborhood to meet demand.

“Not enough of it exists. We’ve had condos go up and nice rental buildings, but it seems like there’s more demand than supply at the moment,” Karas said.

Only 65 apartments were added since 2000 in one section of the neighborhood, from 1st Avenue to the Bowery and between 9th and 3rd Streets, according to the 2010 Census. The Census also revealed that the number of occupied residencies in the same area decreased by a miniscule .49 percent from 2000 to 2010. In another section of the East Village, from Avenue D to FDR Drive and between E. 6th and E. Houston Streets, occupied apartments increased by about 5.29 percent from 2000 to 2010.

The fixed number of occupied apartments in what five real estate agents insist is a popular market suggests that older residents may have been pushed out in the last decade with newer arrivals taking their place.

East Villager and managing director at Miron Properties, Jeff Schleider, said developers can’t build enough apartments for the increased demand because of long-time residents.

“There are limited places to build,” Schleider said. “Where there are existing buildings where new ones can be built, it’s just pretty tricky given the make-up of who’s in the building—including rent-stabilized and rent-controlled.”

Warner Lewis, an agent from Halstead Property’s office in the Village, said zoning can be an issue for developers.

“Everything is six-stories or under,” Lewis said. “The numbers are a lot tighter because, for people who are sitting on lots or buildings, there’s just not the predictive upside for developers to buy a plot and be able to build 15 to 20 stories and really just blow it out of the water.”

However, Schleider said that the city’s zoning restrictions aren’t a huge obstacle for developers interested in the area. In the East Village, zoning changes block-by-block, but in most places, Schleider said, developers are allowed to build six times up the floor area ratio of the lot, also known as R6.

“You’re allowed to build. You can get permission to build pretty decent sized buildings in the East Village, so the zoning isn’t that imposing,” he said. “The biggest challenge is finding new development sites.”

Karas said his richer clients would like to rent or own new apartments in the East Village, but he has a hard time finding listings.

Five real estate agents agreed that more of their clients are interested in the East Village, though some said there aren't a lot of luxury apartments available.

“There’s a market that’s not being met,” said Karas. “Because if we only have a sort of finite number of these luxury apartments in the East Village—and especially the part of the East Village that’s west, say, Lafayette, Bowery, Second Avenue—they’ve been at an absolute premium.”

Because few new buildings are appearing, rent has soared in apartments without restrictions.

“A lot of those Polish and Ukrainian residents who’ve lived there for a while are beginning to be pushed out,” Karas said.

Though newcomers must replace older residents in order to move to the East Village, Schleider still said he believed the almost stagnant Census occupancy data was incorrect.

“The Census numbers are skewed because certain demographics tend to not answer it,” Schleider said. He said that he thought the actual occupancy probably increased. “I imagine the [Census] numbers stayed about the same, but I bet [occupancy] went up a little bit—certainly not as much as other neighborhoods because there’s just not development space.”

Lewis said that newer residents might be more outgoing than their predecessors, making the East Village seem more occupied.

“Maybe the data doesn’t show that there’s a younger crowd of people just out-and-about more,” Lewis said. “The numbers must not have changed in the amount of people that live there, but the people who do live there are a younger more out-and about crowd.”

Note: The above article was originally written for my summer class’ blog, The Village Beat. My grandpa passed away and, as a result, I wasn’t in New York in order to complete the article to my class blog’s standards. I am really proud of this article and feel that it’s good enough for this blog at least.

Social Media Manipulation: The Zombie Apocalypse

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With finals over and nothing to do but read my constantly updating Twitter, I was watching the trends in New York City. Among the usual crap about sports (I still don’t understand who Jason Giambi is) and random creepiness (#shemighthaveadick), I noticed that “Zombie Apocalypse” was also trending. Naturally, I clicked on the link, thinking it had something to do with Saturday’s earthquake/rapture that will kill everyone. I also had a feeling it might be one of those best quote from zombie movies or something trends. But after scrolling through the top tweets, I found one by my good friends at NPR:

Basically, the people at the Centers for Disease Control (also known as the CDC) decided that everyone is completely dumb and needs a fake reason (a zombie apocalypse) to prepare for normal, likely to occur, disasters (earthquakes, tornadoes, etc.). The CDC published a blog post,”Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse,” that seems like a joke on the surface, but really there are some pretty good tips for regular disasters. After giving a brief history of zombies (which, really, was unnecessary. People have been preparing for that since “Night of the Living Dead“), the CDC Public Health Matters Blog writer Ali S. Khan explains,

The rise of zombies in pop culture has given credence to the idea that a zombie apocalypse could happen. In such a scenario zombies would take over entire countries, roaming city streets eating anything living that got in their way. The proliferation of this idea has led many people to wonder “How do I prepare for a zombie apocalypse?”

Well, we’re here to answer that question for you, and hopefully share a few tips about preparing for realemergencies too!

I gotta say, some of the tips were spot on.

I don't think an emergency kit will help this girl...(via CDC)

Like the emergency kit, which Khan explains should have (this will be a direct quote)

  • Water (1 gallon per person per day)
  • Food (stock up on non-perishable items that you eat regularly)
  • Medications (this includes prescription and non-prescription meds)
  • Tools and Supplies (utility knife, duct tape, battery powered radio, etc.)
  • Sanitation and Hygiene (household bleach, soap, towels, etc.)
  • Clothing and Bedding (a change of clothes for each family member and blankets)
  • Important documents (copies of your driver’s license, passport, and birth certificate to name a few)
  • First Aid supplies (although you’re a goner if a zombie bites you, you can use these supplies to treat basic cuts and lacerations that you might get during a tornado or hurricane)
Being the clever government health dude he is, Khan notes there should be an emergency plan, etc, and gives legitimate details about how to concoct one (I won’t bore you with that, it’s all here), but he also links to a legitimate page from the CDC website about emergency planning. While this is clearly manipulation to get people to actually think about emergency planning, I have to say I am mighty impressed.
Think about the last time you “thought” about what to do if, say, there was a flu outbreak or an earthquake. You can’t. Now, because the CDC brought popular culture and zombies into a discussion of safety, all you can think about is how to get a couple of gallons of water in your closet in case “Shawn of the Dead” happens. Proving my point further, the CDC website crashed because so many people were looking at it, according to ThirdAge.com:
“If you prepare for the zombie apocalypse, you’ll be prepared for all hazards,” CDC spokesman Dave Daigle told Reuters Thursday.
However, as Khan was trying to be informative, he left out several important items

The CDC used zombies and social media to (gasp!) teach you something about emergency preparedness. Jerks. (via CDC)

necessary in any zombie emergency kit (Note: I do not recommend actually gathering these items and am trying to be funny. Please don’t sue me.):

  • Shotgun and any other gun you can get your hands on (don’t forget the “double tap” from “Zombieland”…MAKE SURE THOSE SUCKERS ARE DEAD!)
  • Make-up (to pretend you’re a zombie too)
  • Condoms (I mean…if the movies are correct, there’s always gonna be an opportunity for sex during a zombie disease outbreak)
  • Dead bodies (duh, to feed to the zombies)
  • Drugs and alcohol (self-explanatory)
At the end of the article, Khan is pretty funny (kinda) and explains:
If zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak.
Okay, so it really wasn’t that funny, but you know all about safety during a legitimate disease outbreak now, don’t you?
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Tompkins Square: A Park Divided…on Cleanliness, Anyway

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The central knoll at Tompkins Square Park in N...

Image via Wikipedia

Depending on the different sections of Tompkins Square Park, visitors are divided on its cleanliness, though a government report found a small drop in the percentage of  parks deemed “acceptable” in overall cleanliness.

Jeremy Flynn, 23, said that the dog run is always cleaner than the walkways in the park. “There’s a lot of trash,” he said. “I have to watch the dogs so they don’t pick up cigarette buds and shit like that.” However, Flynn, who moved to the city from Texas five years ago, explained that the park was better than those back home. “This is probably as good as it gets,” he said.

Many East Village residents seem to agree with Flynn. Despite the chilly 40-degree weather, hundreds flock to Tompkins Square Park on one of the few clear days in February to enjoy the sun. The park, between Avenues A and B and from East 7th to 10th Streets, has a dog run, several playgrounds and a basketball court that skateboarders share with the players. In addition to water fountains, a comfort station and many benches, several dozen trashcans are available to the park’s visitors.

Regardless of the trashcan abundance in Tompkins Square Park, the city reported fewer parks throughout the five boroughs deemed “acceptable” for cleanliness, with a decrease from 93% in 2006 to 88% in 2010. The Mayor’s Management Report for Fiscal Year 2010, released last September, evaluates services during the City’s fiscal year from July 2009 to June 2010 and assesses the performance of 46 of the City’s central agencies and organizations, most of which report directly to the Mayor. Evaluations are based on the office’s own research.

Through this research, the city found the percentage of large parks like Tompkins Square rated “acceptable” for cleanliness declined from 89% in 2006 to 76% in 2010. However, the amount only decreased by one percent since 2009.

In spite of the decrease in the number of acceptably clean parks in the city overall one visitor said she thinks Tompkins Square Park has gotten cleaner in the last eight or seven years. “It seems a lot more family oriented,” said the woman, 31, who has been living near  the park for the last decade. “They upgraded the kiddie area and did a lot of landscaping.”

East Village resident Mark Wightman, 41, visits the park with his kids a few times a week. While they spend most of the time in the park at the playground, Wightman said he believes the park is reasonably clean. “I don’t think there’s a lot of graffiti or anything, but we’re mostly in the playground.”

The park’s playgrounds and dog run are virtually spotless, but pathways with less foot-traffic attract glass, cigarette butts and litter. In corners of the park further from the entrances, garbage is sprinkled near trashcans instead of thrown away, attracting the city’s nastier residents.

Though Bridget Maher, 24, visits the dog run often, she explained she was worried about her small dog being hurt by the park’s rats. “I was walking her the other night and this rat just came out of a pile of trash and starred at us,” Maher said. “I’m worried about the garbage piles and all the rats that live in them,” she added, pointing to a heap of ten bags near the comfort station. Like Maher, a reporter observed several rats in various sections of the park walking through the park one night.

While she’s weary of the rats, Maher said her dog chases after them. “She has fun,” Maher said, laughing. Notwithstanding vermin, Maher explained she was pleased with the cleanliness in Tompkins Square Park overall. “Other than that, it’s fine,” she said.

Note: The above was an assignment for my Journalistic Inquiry class. I published it because I liked it and thought it might be interesting to some people.